


A Confession in the Snow (Literally)

by OrangeTeaMoon



Category: Bleach
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gin being Gin, Gin is supposed to be guarding him, Happy Ending, Ichigo is a prince, M/M, Ran is a great wingman, She gets them together in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22744270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrangeTeaMoon/pseuds/OrangeTeaMoon
Summary: Gin likes the prince. (He doesn’t know it yet.)Ichigo loves his guard. (He kind of knows.)Ran knows everything. (Now, how to get them together?)Or: Sometimes you know, sometimes you don’t, and just once your childhood friend will write the confession for you. Into a snow sculpture, in front of the entire village.
Relationships: Ichimaru Gin & Kurosaki Ichigo, Ichimaru Gin & Matsumoto Rangiku, Ichimaru Gin/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo & Matsumoto Rangiku
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40
Collections: GinIchi WinterFest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

Ichigo hated the castle parties. Ever since he had been officially given the title of crown prince, the attendance to these things had become mandatory for him, while his sisters and dad could hide away in the family wing of the royal castle, and spend their midwinter night drinking hot chocolate and reading together by the fire.  
And like attending wasn’t enough, Kaien had asked him not to walk around looking like he wanted to kill everyone that approached him. Even though, Ichigo had to admit, a mass murder of every noble lady that tried to flirt with him sounded like the only way to make that happen. His cousin would just have to deal with Ichigo’s glaring, unless he wanted to have a lot of dead girls to deal with.  
He had made it clear to his cousin, that he would not be married off to some girl who just wanted to improve her family’s standing, and that he would be picking his future partner himself, without any interference, when he had finally accepted the position of ‘crown prince’. 

However, with the current object of his affection completely ignorant of them, the King seemed to think it was acceptable to put him in those ball rooms and let the girls throw themselves at him, hoping that one would stick. To make matters worse, Rukia, his usual partner in crime and savoir from the depressing boredom of these events, had excused herself, and stayed home to look after her sick brother.  
So, left with no choice, he stayed with his back towards the wall, a nearly expressionless look on his face, which betrayed only prat of his annoyance at being stuck at the bloody ball, drinking virgin cocktails, (it wouldn’t do to be seen drunk by your future people, Ichigo!), instead entertaining himself by scaring off the ladies that kept hesitantly approaching at him. The bravest one had come close enough to see his guard’s creepy grin, before thinking better of coming any closer to them. 

It was the man’s first time accompanying Ichigo to one of these balls, and so far, he had been the best part of the evening, scaring off the potential brides without seeming like he was doing so. With the way the silver haired man did so, so naturally, like he had read his mind, Ichigo spent a lot of time worrying if the other actually knew how he felt, and was just ignoring it so that he wouldn’t have to hurt the crown prince’s feelings. Then again, until Ichigo got his feelings in order, and was truly sure that he was in love with his guard, he would keep his mouth shut, no matter how badly he just wanted to scream “I think I might like you” in the man’s face sometimes.  
But then again, the silver fox, as Rukia had named him, (so that he could talk about 'this' even when Gin was on guard), had been off today. There was a chance of him being just as annoyed with this little get together as Ichigo himself was, but he didn’t think that would be enough to put the guy in such a strange mood. Gin had faced down Aizen, literally stabbed him in the back, a gathering of nobles shouldn’t be that difficult to manage.  
Deciding to let the matter rest until Gin either told him or asked for help, he went off to get another drink. Worrying about something he had no way to figure out really wasn’t his style. He just had to trust that he had shown the other that he was ready to help when and if he needed it. 

______________________________________________________________

Gin was nervous. He would deny it if anyone ever noticed, but he was nervous. Downright scared nearly. He was about to put his position, his standing with the prince and, if this went completely south, his very life on the line. He was sure that his endeavour was worth it (even if the other person involved would probably disagree), but still. He hadn’t seen his old friend in a long time, and she was the whole reason he had even started his plan to go after the traitor.  
Gin had definitely been hiding behind the castle walls for long enough. He had heard that his story was more or less public knowledge now, his survival and everything, but he had so far been too scared to go down and face Ran himself.  
In a rather cowardly move, he had avoided her, not wanting to see her angry with him, to make her cry again. Not after he had promised to never make her cry again. He had, however promised her one more thing, and today was the only day he could make good on that. It had been a promise he had been ready to break when he went against Aizen, but now that he could keep it, he had a duty to do so. Even if it meant tricking his Prince a little. 

The redhead didn’t look happy standing there by the window anyway. If he pushed his face any further into the drink, he’d drown in it. Really, getting his way today would be a doing the prince a favour.  
Gin moved from his position behind the prince into his space, murmuring in a low voice. “This isn’t really a party, is it?” The prince didn’t even turn to towards him, just snorted in a mean-spirited way. “Since you’re so not happy to be here, what do you think of just leaving this behind? I know a place to go, it’s much more exciting than this...”  
Gin watched as the prince’s eyes focused on him, despite never turning his head. “Are you sure you should be making such suggestions, Mister Personal Guard?”

“I suppose I would be punished quite harshly should it get around that I’m putting such foolhardy ideas into the crown prince’s head.” Gin grinned at the prince. Despite the relaxed and nearly cheerful tone the guard had taken, he was ready to fall to his knees should the prince react negatively to his little idea. For all that he liked the kid, and didn’t think he had misjudged him, when it came to the nobles, there was little guarantee to how they would react. It was better not to take any chances there.  
Any more than he was doing now, anyway. 

“And here I thought you were supposed to keep me safe, not offer to run away with me.”  
The prince looked interested; his eyes fixed on Gin with an intensity the silver haired man wasn’t sure he liked. But right then it worked in his favour, so Gin swallowed his unease, kept his cheerful tone and continued pitching his plan.  
“I’ll make sure that you are safe every step of the way, and we’ll be back before the morning. No one will notice we were even gone.”  
“If it’s like that, let’s get out of here.”  
The prince's smirk was not reassuring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, this is 3k longer than planned  
> Please enjoy it anyway ;)

Getting out of the castle had been too easy. They had basically walked out of the back door, and nobody had even questioned it! Something was very off, and Gin just couldn’t figure out what it was. The prince was just lazily trailing down the path behind him, looking into the snowy night. He hadn’t said anything else, apparently happy to keep to himself on the road. 

The path down to the village attached to the castle wasn’t long, or particularly beautiful, and with their pace, they had made it down in less than an hour. All of the sudden Gin could feel himself getting nervous again. Was he doing the right thing, taking the prince from his castle? Would Ran even want to see him again? What if he just made her sad and cry all over again? Maybe she wouldn’t even accept his help, not believe that he was coming to full fill a promise he had made so long ago. 

A gasp ripped him out of his thoughts. His companion had caught sight of the village. It was beautifully decorated for the midwinter festival, coloured lights strung up across the street from building to building, forming an illuminated path through the main street to the central square. The food stands had already been put up, so the heat from the fires warmed the people who had gathered around several of the different stands. The redhead couldn’t look his fill, eyes dancing from side to side, occasionally lingering on something that held his interest. Gin slowed his pace, watching the other, who now walked beside him. The near permanent scowl had been leeched out of his face by a fascinated kind of joy, and the fires made the orange hair glow against the dark sky. The man was truly beautiful, and suddenly Gin could understand why every girl in court wanted to catch his attention. 

If they found out that he was also kind and smart, the prince wouldn’t be safe wherever he went anymore. His charge could never be left alone again.   
Gin carefully grabbed the prince’s elbow and guided him through the crowed towards a side ally just off the central square. The other was notably disappointed they had left the colourful road behind, but still stuck to Gin. 

The orphanage was just as Gin remembered it. Run down, but held together by the stubbornness and carful care that its inhabitants invested into it. Children were running around in bright jackets, chasing each other and throwing snow balls around. And among them stood the queen of the chaos. She was organizing the kids into groups, dodging snowballs, complimenting snow angels on the ground, while balancing a tray of hot cookies.   
She was beautiful. And her face, when she caught sight of them, fell. “Hello, Ran.”

____________________________________________________________________

Ran had been having a good night. Nearly all her preparations for the festival were done, none of her children were sick, and she had finally managed to rope the older kids into helping out in the kitchen, so that she could go and see a bit of the other stands for herself.   
Once, she and her friend had made a promise to compete in the snow sculpture competition together, but that had been a long time ago, and probably Gin wouldn’t have the time to come see her, with his new status as a hero and everything.

As if summoned by her thoughts, the man stepped into the alley. “Ran,” was all he said, all he had time to say, before she threw herself at him. “Gin!” She was crying, she couldn’t help it. She had missed him, worried about him, and now he was here. Alive and well. Then she noticed the odd way he felt in her arms, hugging her back with only one hand, while the second was nowhere to be found. It took her a couple of seconds to register what that meant, but once she had, she started sobbing. 

“Ahh, I didn’t come to make you cry, Ran. I actually came with some good news for once, and still you’re crying.” 

Ran just hugged him tighter, not allowing his stupidity to ruin their reunion. After another minute she let him go, and looked him over. He looked well, even with the missing arm he managed to ooze confidence in a way that made most people uneasy about him. But Ran had known him nearly all her life, and she knew better. He was obviously jumpy, and uncomfortable, holding himself in a stiff way, angled slightly away from her. Had he feared her reaction badly enough to stay away from here? 

Now that Ran had a bit of distance, she noticed that Gin didn’t come alone. A man with bright orange hair stood behind him, seeming as uncomfortable as Gin, but he was still watching them when most others would have turned away. In fact, Ran thought he looked strangely out of place, a glint in his eyes that she wasn’t able to place immediately, but that made her tense up. 

“Ah, yes, so here is the help I mentioned!” Gin had likely noticed her sudden discomfort, and decided to interfere.   
“Remember back then, when we said we’d compete at the midwinter snow sculptures one day? It’s about time I kept that promise.”  
Ran could feel herself tearing up again. After all that time, he still remembered such a stupid thing, and had come to make it true. He had not forgotten her. “Wait, why are crying again? No Ran, don’t...” He sounded more frantic than he had ever been, and Ran regretted that she couldn’t reassure him, but the young woman was so overwhelmed, the words just wouldn’t form. 

“She’s happy you idiot, be quiet and hug her!” 

Ran heard the hissed statement, even though the owner of the voice had probably intended the opposite, and tried to nod. At the very least, she agreed with the part that called Gin an idiot.   
Gin however still looked lost, standing in front of her with his one arm awkwardly stretched out, like he wasn’t sure if to touch her or not. 

“I’m just so happy you remembered.”  
Gin shifted underneath her gaze, trying to escape the overflowing emotions. Knowing that Gin would shy away from any more emotional outbursts in such a public place, Ran quickly gathered herself, and instead turned to the redhead.  
He was dressed incredibly well, in a festive, if conservative, dark blue robe, which contrasted beautifully with his hair. He seemed unsure, constant slight movements giving him away, but his eyes were alert. 

“I’m so sorry you had to see that, Mr..?”  
Gin tried to answer that, jumping into the conversation now that the part with the feelings was over, “He’s the help I brought!” 

“Ichigo. I was told there’s a party here somewhere.” The amusement in his voice was well hidden under a deadpan tone. 

A glance towards Gin told her all she needed to know. Her old friend had obviously tricked the other, (and a noble be the looks of it), into coming down to the orphanage and helping out with preparations, so that they could be done in time for the snow building competition to start. 

Ran relaxed. Whoever this Ichigo was, Gin wouldn’t have brought him if he thought he would react violently towards or in front the children, (who had all run inside when the two strangers approached), and even if there was a problem, Gin would be strong enough to handle it.   
So she welcomed them into her home, and put the two willing sacrifices to work. 

For all that Ichigo grumpily complained, he helped out with the baking, and treated the children well. In fact, her 5-year-old girls might end up with crushes, with the gentle way the man complimented their drawing and patiently listened to their stories.   
And, Ran thought with a grin, the girls might not be the only ones affected. Gin had spent an awful lot of time looking at the noble he had brought along. He might just be checking if everything was all right, but Ran had known the man since he was 8. Gin had no idea he was crushing on his friend, or he would never be watching the other that openly. No, the man definitely had no idea. There was no way that Gin would allow his smirks to soften in such a gentle way, into nearly a smile, in public.   
She didn’t think she had ever seen him so smitten with anyone before, and she hoped this wouldn’t end in heartbreak. But still, Ran couldn’t help but giggle, after not visiting for as long as Gin had, she deserved to mess with him a little. Of course, first Ran had to figure out if Gin had a chance with the pretty redhead at all. 

Since Gin had finally come home, she could now commence plan: Make Gin happy.

______________________________________________________________

Ichigo wasn’t pissed at Gin, no matter how he pretended to be. 

The guard knew too, with the smirks he was throwing his way when he caught Ichigo intently listening to a girl’s story about how she had caught herself a unicorn, nodding along and asking questions about her incredible adventure. If he ever got out of that castle again, he would bring along a unicorn for the children to ride on. Of course, if Gin had told him they were going to be kitchen helpers and babysitters for the night, Ichigo would have brought one from the castle already. 

Overwhelmed by a sudden annoyance, the prince sent his guard a narrow-eyed stare, letting him feel every drop of it, and turned back to the girl after the sliver man’s smirk had been replaced with a twitching grimace. There, that would teach him to lie to Ichigo of all people.   
Still, he knew he was having much more fun here than at the stuffy ball, and Gin hadn’t been wrong in assuming that anything was better than there. With the way the guard proved himself to be able to read him, Ichigo started worrying about how obvious his feelings were, again. Had they been as easy for the other man to see as everything else about him apparently was? With Gin being stuck in the kitchen, breaking dishes rather than actually cleaning them, (Ichigo made a note to send a check over), the prince had a rare opportunity. 

He had access to someone that Gin valued greatly, if not even above everything else. Ichigo would bet Rangiku was, in some way or another, the reason for Gin’s involvement with Aizen. If anyone would be able to tell him if he had a chance with Gin, it would be her. Ichigo just needed an opening to speak to her alone.   
The opportunity came earlier than expected, with Ran herself asking Ichigo to accompany her to the stall to deliver the next round of cookies.   
The way wasn’t long, but the atmosphere a little grey. The lights that were strung near the central road and square seemed far away, instead the falling snow swallowed all sound, except their footsteps. 

“I noticed that you have been putting the younger children to bed. Are they not allowed to go to the festival?” Ichigo asked to break the silence, but also out of genuine curiosity. It seemed unfair to him that only the older children would be able to see the festival, even if it was just minding the orphanage’s stall.   
“No, however, if I keep them awake the whole night, I won’t be able to deal with them tomorrow. I’ll wake them for the finale of the snow sculpture competition. When the winner is announced, there will be amazing fireworks lit, and that’s what the children actually want to see, you know?”

Ichigo nodded. In his head he considered how bad Karin and Yuzu had been when they hadn’t slept for some reason, they could become little horrible monsters.   
“So, you know Gin pretty well, right?”   
Ichigo knew that subtlety would never be his strong point, and Ran seemed to understand that immediately too.   
“Yes, we grew up together in a village near the border. It’s been the two of us as long as I remember.”

Ichigo nervously fiddled with his basket, though careful not to damage the cookies inside. He could feel Rangiku’s eyes on him, while he did his best to avoid looking at her. 

“So, would you say that he is very, ...., observant? I mean, when it’s about emotions, or something like that?”

Ichigo knew he had never looked more like a strawberry. His face was so hot, he wouldn’t be surprised if all the snow around him just melted. Why was talking about feelings so embarrassing? He wouldn’t be doing it for anyone else but Gin, ever!

Seeing as the girl hadn’t spoken, Ichigo gathered the courage to look at her, and was greeted with her dumbstruck face. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds, then she laughed. Ichigo continued staring at her for a few moments, before he understood what was going on. She was mocking him.   
Face red with anger now, the prince stomped away, leaving the still laughing Ran behind. He shouldn’t have started this. His problems with Gin were between just the two of them anyway, and had nothing to do with her, childhood friend or not. 

By the time the orphanage’s caretaker caught up with him, he had already sorted in half of his basket. Ichigo didn’t want to be laughed at for his feelings again, so when she came, he pushed the rest of the freshly baked cookies at the boys who were taking care of the selling, and turned to leave. 

“Please wait, Ichigo!” The woman sounded out of breath. Probably been laughing too hard, Ichigo thought. However, he still stopped. She was Gin’s friend, she’d know when to stop teasing.   
“Rin, Shiro, could you two please go back and get the next batch?”

When the two kids ran off, Ichigo just went back to putting the cookies onto the right trays.   
“Ichigo, if you ask me, ‘Does Gin notice emotions?’, it’s because you like him, isn’t it?” The blonde joined Ichigo in the placing of the treats. Her voice was quiet, calm, and gentle. “However, I feel the need to tell you, that my old friend is an emotional idiot.” 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the probability that he noticed is so low, it’s funny. That’s why I laughed, not at you at all. Your feelings are your own, and under no circumstance would I make fun of something so important.”

Ichigo was slightly mollified, however, he was not sure about what Ran said. “Gin isn’t stupid. He couldn’t have gotten away with tricking Aizen if he was.”

“He is very smart. That’s a problem sometimes. He often doesn’t understand what he feels, never mind what others do.” Ran smiled. “He’s a good man. To the ones he cares about he will do anything. Even if he doesn’t always understand, he will do his best. And he cares about you.”   
They worked in silence for a while, broken only when customers came up.

“Ran? How do you know when you are in love?”   
Ran looked at him, and smiled. “You two deserve each other.”  
What did that mean? Ichigo wondered. He felt like he had been insulted, but couldn’t figure out how. 

______________________________________________________________________

Gin was nervous.  
His work was more or less done, (he had never been good at cleaning and Ran fucking knew), so when the two brats walked in to pick up the last batch of cookies, he felt a cold shiver running down his spine. Something was going on. And Ran was messing with it. 

This was going to end badly for him. He considered going up to them and irrupting them, however, what Ran could do in retribution wasn’t worth it. He did kind of deserve it. For all his promises and determination, he had made her cry again. He had never wanted to see that again, to feel so powerless. And he had broken that promise. He would keep this one.  
So, no matter how she messed with him, he could take it. He would take it. It was his duty to take it. But Ichigo, (and he still couldn’t believe the prince had given them his first name to call him, like he too was a peasant without a proper family name), he had nothing to do with any of this. Ran wouldn’t be cruel to him, but Gin really didn’t want the other involved with this. Problems between Ran and him should stay between the two of them. The prince already had enough reasons to be upset with him. Gin had after all taken him from the castle under false pretences, and then asked him to slave away in a kitchen for hours, while watching little kids.   
Yeah, Gin was not looking forward to returning to the castle. The prince might be kind enough to keep him at his side, but there would be consequences. The way he had been glared at was indication enough of that. The prince wouldn’t throw a tantrum among the kids, but later...

And, Gin was starting to feel like he really didn’t want to leave the prince’s side. Something about Ichigo drew him in. He was kind, but blunt, grumpy, but gentle, rough, honest, smart. Not to mention, pretty. The kind of man who everyone liked. Gin might not be worthy of that friendship, but he so dearly wanted to keep it.   
When Ran and Ichigo returned, and seemingly having become best friends in the 20 minutes they were gone, the alarm bells started ringing. Something was absolutely not going according to plan. 

Despite his worst fears, the rest of the evening passed in relative peace. The sales at the stall had gone well, and thanks to the extra help provided by Gin and Ichigo, clean up was done quickly.   
Quickly enough in fact, that Ran and him had time to sign up for the adults’ snow sculpture competition. Just like he had once promised. And they would win. 

______________________________________________________________________

The competitors were working in tents, which would hide them from the excited viewers.   
“What’s the deal between you and that noble, Gin?”   
“Whatever do you mean Ran?”   
“He is a noble, right? How did you rope him into helping you?”  
“Ahhh, weeeell; don’t worry about it?”   
“GIN!” 

Gin was already feeling bad about it, and Ran wasn’t helping.   
Luckily the tent, which they were working in, was hiding them form everyone’s view. Ran could read him easily, but part of that was that whenever she was there, next to him, all his caution fell away. They had been together forever, had been there for each other at their lowest points. He had nothing to hide from her. 

“You really like him, don’t you?”   
Gin flinched at her tone of voice. There was something pitying in it. He hadn’t done anything to deserve that. Yes, he might like the prince, however, not in a way that would make it impossible to live without him. Ichigo wasn’t Ran. 

“Gin...”

“Enough! I don’t need this from you Ran! So what if I like him? He’s not even just a noble. He’s special, and everyone knows it. Maybe not as well as me, but they know. What would he want with me? Our friendship, if you can even call it that, is over anyway, and I can’t afford even thinking of feeling anymore!”

He felt empty. Like he had taken everything he had inside, and thrown it at Ran. He couldn’t even think of Ichigo in such a way. It would hurt too much to not get it. 

“Gin. You trust me.” Gin nodded. He had abandoned the pile of snow he had been forming. There was nothing he could say to that. It was true.   
“So believe me, when I say, Ichigo, he loves you.”  
Gin laughed. “What is there to love about me, Ran? Even you wouldn’t if we hadn’t grown up together.”

SLAP!

“You will take that back. You are a good man Gin. You have always been good to me. Even if I don’t understand you sometimes, I know. You are brave, and smart, and gentle. You are a good man. And someone who can see this in you, that’s what you need.”  
“Ran. Please. Not today. This is a good day, okay? Let’s do this. Win this. And If you’re right, I...”  
“You won’t tell him anyway.”  
Gin didn’t meet her eyes.   
“Okay. Let’s have fun today! You do the body and face, and I’ll do the wings!” 

_________________________________________________________

Gin stood proudly in front of his and Ran’s creation. In three hours, they had created a rather detailed, and grand statue, which, Gin was sure, would win.   
His eyes roamed around the crowd, before finally finding the bold orange hair he had been searching for. He hoped the prince would see them win. More than Gin wanted him to like this village, Ran, the orphanage, he wanted for Ichigo to see that Gin too, had the ability to create.   
No matter what Ran thought, a relationship would be impossible, however, if possible, Gin wanted to salvage their friendship, despite this little kidnapping incident. Because, technically, he had kidnapped the crown prince and made him work with commoners.   
The judges were just one more team away, and Ran was already beaming, gaze locked on where Ichigo was standing with the orphanage’s children.   
The young prince looked so naturel between all of them, like he had always been meant to be there. 

When the curtain fell, Gin wasn’t looking behind himself. His attention was fixed on Ichigo, whose attention was on the grand sculpture behind Gin. Ichigo looked awed. And then he turned redder than his hair, and hid his face with his hands. The crowed started whispering and giggling, like something scandalous had just happened.   
Confused, Gin turned around to see what had made the redhead so embarrassed enough to blush so fiercely, only to be hit by a wave of heat himself. Across the wings of their snow angel, the words “Gin likes Ichigo too” were written in big, curved letters.   
“Ran!”  
She was of course, busy laughing. Her whole body was shaking, and her eyes sparkled with mischief.   
“I just got you a boyfriend, be more thankful.” She playfully scolded.   
“She’s not exactly wrong, Gin.” Ichigo had come up to them, face still dusted with a blush, however, much more in control than Gin. The guard was shaking, Thoughts racing, fingers twitching, all while trying to process that the other was there, in front of him, ad not angry, or pitying, or any other horrible reaction Gin had feared.   
In fact, he looked quite happy. Hoping was too much, wasn’t it? How long ago had it been that Gin had hoped like this, hoped for happiness? And yet, looking at the prince, it seemed like everything was going to be all right.   
Gin felt his hand being taken, Ichigo’s casually holding it in his own, a rare smile on his face, a gentle look in chocolate brown eyes. ‘I love him. I want him,’ Gin realized. Ran had been right all along.   
Gin wanted this for himself, and if Ichigo gave any indication that he was willing to try, Gin wouldn’t mess this up. 

_____________________________________________________________  
Ichigo had never been the kind of person to do or appreciate grand gestures, though he might have to change his stance on that.   
Without this, he might never have said anything, forever wondering if what he felt was real, if it was fair to say anything if he wasn’t sure.

But now, he knew this was right. Gin, with this soft, surprised, genuine expression, mouth slightly open, eyes half lid, just enough that a flash of icy blue could be seen.   
Something about it made Ichigo’s chest feel tight, like if he would explode should he take another breath.   
Something about it made his heart beat faster, his head spin. There could be no doubt now, it was love. 

“Gin, will you do me the honour of being my partner? For now, if not forever?”

“Forever. If I got you, I’m not letting go. Are you sure, Ichigo?”

“That’s good. I wasn’t going to actually let go,” Ichigo answered with a smirk. 

Gin’s and Ran’s snow angel did win first place, and among the thundering applause, as Ran accepted her reward, Gin dragged Ichigo towards him, and gave him a little kiss, a gentle promise of what’s to come.


End file.
